1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to a drain system for a marine vessel and, more particularly, to a drain system that allows easy access at the transom of a marine vessel to drain plugs for the bilge drain, the cooling water drain, and an oil drain.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many types of marine vessels incorporate a drain hole formed through the transom of the boat to allow bilge water to be drained from the marine vessel. In a typical application, a boat is first removed from the water and then placed on a boat trailer or stand. Then the drain plug is removed from an opening extending is through the transom of the boat to allow bilge water to drain from the boat.
As will be described below, it is known to provide an oil drain conduit that extends through an opening in the transom to drain lubricating oil from an engine of the marine engine. It is also known that several different cooling water regions of an engine can be connected together with a common drain valve assembly for automatically draining water from the cooling system when the ambient temperature drops below a preselected magnitude.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,884, which issued to Meisenburg on Oct. 24, 1989, discloses a marine propulsion device with a thru-transom engine oil drain system. A fluid flow tube is provided which extends from the lower portion of the engine oil pan to a point on the boat transom below the pan. The upper end portion of the tube is connected through a control valve which communicates with the pan interior. The lower or discharge tube end portion is connected through a fitting which extends through the transom. A removable plug is associated with the fitting and, when removed, permits oil to drain out through the transom and into an oil collection receptacle when the control valve is opened.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,454, which issued to Landerlen on Apr. 26, 1977, discloses a boat plug apparatus. The boat plug apparatus is described as comprising a boat having a circular drain hole in the exterior of the transom and a ball which is pivotally attached to the transom exterior on both sides of the drain hole. The ball is positioned to be partially contained within the drain hole when acted upon by gravity. When the drain hole is not otherwise sealed the exterior water portion forces the ball into the hole and causes the ball to sealingly close the hole, preventing the water from entering the boat. When the boat is moving or is raised out of the water, the ball is free to swing away from the drain hole and water within the boat escapes through the drain hole.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,556, which issued to Grumelot et al on Sep. 17, 1991, discloses a transom mounted valve with a remote actuator. The valve includes a valve sleeve which is disposed in the drain port of a boat transom and carries a valve stem for axial movement. The valve stem includes a valve head movable with the stem between an open position and a closed position. A cap is releasably secured on the inboard end of the sleeve and mounts an actuating cable guide and anchor, as well as a cam pivotally carried by the cap and attachable to the movable portion of the actuating cable. The cam engages the valve stem. Upon rotation of the cam by linear movement of the actuator cable, the stem is moved against the bias of the spring from the closed position to the open position with the spring bias closing the valve when the cam is moved to the close position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,285, which issued to Logan et al on May 13, 1997, discloses a drain valve for a marine engine. The drain valve assembly automatically drains water from a cooling system of an inboard marine engine when the ambient temperature drops to a preselected value. The drain valve includes a cup-shaped base having a group of inlets connected to portions of a cooling system of the engine to be drained. The open end of the base is enclosed by a cover. Each inlet defines a valve seat and a sealing piston is mounted for movement in the base and includes a series of valve members that are adapted to engage the valve seats. An outlet is provided in the sidewall of the cup-shaped base. The valve members on the sealing piston are biased to a closed position by a coil spring and the temperature responsive element interconnects the sealing piston with the cover. The temperature responsive element is characterized by the ability to exert a force in excess of the spring force of the coil spring when the ambient temperature is above about 50.degree. F. to thereby maintain the valve members in the closed position. When the temperature falls below the selected temperature, the temperature responsive element retracts and thereby permits the valve members to be opened under the influence of the spring to automatically drain water from the cooling system of the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,753, which issued to Birchfield on Sep. 10, 1991, described a drain plug position indicator apparatus. The apparatus includes a plug detector mechanism that is mounted adjacent an interior surface of a drain plug aperture directly through a transom of a boat. The detecting means includes a spring-biased switch positionable from an extended position in the absence of a plug to a retracted position in the presence of a plug directly through the transom. The switch is cooperative with an audible member to effect alarm in the absence of the plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,111, which issued to Frahn on Oct. 24, 1995, discloses a boat transom drain hole plug. The boat plug is used to seal the hole in a boat's transom. It provides a flexible rubber stopper having an axial channel that is insertable into the transom hole. A plug bolt and a plug nut are threadedly engaged inside the rubber stopper. A spring rod, attached to the plug bolt, may be rotated by hand to turn the plug bolt on the plug nut's threads. Clockwise rotation shortens the length of the rubber stopper and expands its diameter to make a water tight seal. Counterclockwise rotation causes the rubber stopper to relax, allowing it to be easily inserted or removed from the transom hole. The flexibility of the spring rod allows the user to apply torque while keeping his hand a safe distance from the hull of the boat, thereby avoiding scraped knuckles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,690, which issued to Henderson on Sep. 15, 1987, discloses a quick drain assembly for a boat engine. The device is used for an inboard boat engine, especially an engine of the type having a water jacket. A plurality of drain cocks are provided and the engine coolant must drain through them after each use of the engine. The quick drain device is in the form of a barrel having a plurality of lateral tubes radiating therefrom. An expandable stopper is received within the barrel and covers the ends of the tubes and thereby prevents flow therethrough. The other ends of the lateral tubes are connected to the drain cocks or drain plugs located on the engine block. Removal of the expandable stopper simultaneously drains all the drain plugs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,727, which issued to Logan et al on Dec. 3, 1996, discloses a separating apparatus for the cooling system of a marine engine. The apparatus is intended for separating solid material from cooling water in the cooling system of a marine engine. The apparatus includes a hollow member or housing having an inlet to receive cooling water and having an outlet. A drain opening is located in the housing above the bottom surface of the housing and is connected through a suitable conduit to a temperature responsive drain valve. A generally J-shaped tubular member is disposed in the housing and has one end connected to the drain outlet while a second end is slightly above the bottom surface of the housing, out of alignment with the inlet. When the drain valve is opened, water will drain through the housing to the drain outlet while solid debris will collect in the bottom of the housing beneath the second end of the tubular member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,063, which issued to Inoue et al on Aug. 2, 1994, describes a cooling system for a marine propulsion engine. It describes a number of embodiments of cooling systems for marine propulsion units having water cooled internal combustion engines in which the cooling jacket of the engine is at least partially positioned below the level of the water in which the watercraft is operating. The described embodiments all permit drainage of the engine cooling jacket when it is not being run. In some embodiments, the drain valve also controls the communication of the coolant from the body of water in which the watercraft is operating with the engine cooling jacket. Various types of pumping arrangements are disclosed for pumping the bilge and automatic valve operation.
The patents described above are hereby explicitly incorporated by reference herein.
Although various types of drains have been used to permit fluids to pass through the transom, there remains a need to improve the convenience for a boat operator to perform various simple maintenance tasks, such as draining the bilge of the boat, draining the cooling water from the engine of a marine propulsion system, and draining the lubricating oil from the engine. It would therefore be significantly beneficial if a simplified system could be provided to allow a boat operator to perform these three tasks with a common device that does not require the boat operator to manipulate components on the engine or within the hull of the boat. It would also be beneficial if boat manufacturers could accomplish these goals without creating multiple holes through the transom of the boat.